Arrow Season 1, Episode 2 Recap: The (Shirtless) Plot Thickens

The second episode of the CW’s Arrow, while not as compelling as last week's pilot episode, nevertheless made for an entertaining hour of television—and not just ‘cause there was more shirtlessness!

The Arrow, Undressed
Heather: I'm just gonna go ahead and admit that the eye candy is a large part of my investment in this show, as I suspect it my be for a lot of people. So in VERY IMPORTANT NEWS: This week Oliver once again strips down in a couple memorable scenes—the first for some training about 7 minutes in (methinks being the Green Arrow will require lots and lots of training—the gift that keeps giving) and the second about 27 minutes in (Ollie’s changing, his sister walks in, he asks why she didn’t knock, I wonder why he thinks it’s a good idea to change with the door open) for some talk about where those intriguing scars came from...or not talk about it, as the case may be.

Oliver and Laurel ’Ship Update
Heather: Oliver and (Dinah) Laurel were kinda wishy-washy, which I hope isn’t going to continue. One minute Laurel’s lashing out publicly at Ollie, seemingly far from forgiveness, and in the next she’s having him over for ice cream. Oliver’s no better: he keeps warning her away (or letting her father do it for him) only to moon over her when they end up together (which seems to happen pretty often despite his supposed best intentions). Still, I love an angsty backstory, and they’d certainly be pretty together—ESPECIALLY as Green Arrow and Black Canary. Just sayin’.

That Final Scene
Heather: So Ollie wasn’t alone on that island, huh? I’d been wondering where those weird scars came from, and that souvenir he brought his sister, not to mention those language skills... Turns out he’s not the original Green Arrow! Where could that storyline be headed? And do we really want to spend a bunch more time with Oliver's island hair? (I'm pretty sure that I do not. It's AWFUL!)

Fun with Comics
Chris: OK, all shirtlessness and shipping aside, Arrow is built out off of the frame work of a superpower-less DC hero known as Green Arrow. So far we have been introduced to two major comic characters in the show, Merlyn and Speedy. Who are they? Well, Speedy is the Robin to Arrow's Batman. Except that Speedy always had a bit of a hangup playing second fiddle to the Archer and didn't always appreciate being known as Green Arrow's sidekick. And Merlyn is kind of the Anti-Green Arrow. He is just as talented as an archer, but he works as an evil mercenary and all that.

How they are going to translate Speedy being Queen's sister and Merlyn being his bestie remains to be seen, but I'm curious to watch it all unfold. This week's villian was supposed to be a yakuza assassin from a series called The Longbow Hunters, known as Shado. Another archer. I'll give it to DC: When they pick a theme, they stick to it.

I'm sure there is more to come, so I'll be sure and keep my eyes peeled for it; we still need to be introduced formally to Green Arrow's main squeeze, The Black Canary; his fellow hero, The Huntress; and the awesome DC villian, Deathstroke, whose mask was shown to us ever so briefly in the show's teasers. And I'm looking forward to when Oliver gets to go visit, and save from an assassin, a certain other billionaire playboy in a city a called Gotham.

What’s Next
Heather: Shirtlessness even in the promos?! That’s what I’m talkin’ ’bout! Oh, wait, you wanted an idea of what might actually be happening next week? Yeah, I got nothin’ for ya.

Heather Waters works for H&H and is a 24/7 fangirl. Tweet her @redline_

I'm enjoying the storyline, the acting, the bare skin and the not-so-hidden references to the DC universe. It's on my keeper list for now. However, I'm not so keen on the new Beauty and the Beast from the CW. Anyone see that?

@BrooklynShoeBabe -- He was not shirtless with the bad hair--he was still in his clothes from the ship. :( Maybe in future episodes, though, 'cause those clothes gotta go sometime in 5 years...

@darlenemarshall -- Yeah, I'm enjoying the potential for lots more comic mythology in this one, and have a feeling it'll keep me watching even if I'm not loving individual episodes (I really didn't love this week's).

Beauty and the Beast was so, so bad. Critics had been saying so for a while but I had to see for myself; they were right.